Porn and Sexual Photos and Film Factsheet (PDF download, 792 KB)
It is usually legal for someone under 18 to watch porn involving adults engaging in sexual activity. The Australian Communication and Media Authority can request that films on the internet showing people engaged in sexual activity are removed, but it is generally not a crime to watch such films.
It is illegal to watch, make, show or sell pornography involving people younger than 18 or to show or sell indecent or offensive material. Indecent or offensive material includes material that shows violence or cruelty or anything that would offend reasonable members of the community.
No. It is a crime to send, show or give pornographic films to a person under 18, even if you are in a private place like your house. This means that a young person showing another young person porn could be committing an offence.
A sexual image or film involving young people may be child exploitation material.
Under South Australian law, child exploitation material is anything like a film, photo, cartoon or book designed to excite sexual arousal that:
Essentially, any material that is intended to be sexy and contains, or appears to contain, a person under 17 may be child exploitation material.
Under Commonwealth law, child abuse material includes sexual images of anyone who is (or appears to be) under 18. You can be charged under Commonwealth laws in South Australia.
Even if a young person says that they agree to be in the image or film, it is still considered child exploitation material.
It is an offence to make, send, post online, have, or ask someone for child exploitation material.
It is illegal to use phones or the internet to ‘groom’ people under the age of 17. This can look like sending sexual images to try to get that young person interested in sex.
If the person doing the ‘grooming’ is an adult and they are in a position of power or authority over the young person (like a teacher or boss) then the law says that the young person must be 18 or older. It may not be illegal if the young person receiving the communication was 16 and the person who has been charged was under 17 or thought that the other young person was 17 or older.
In most cases, it is illegal to get someone under 17 (or 18, if the older person is in a position of power or authority) to do an ‘indecent act’ or take photo or film of a young person engaged in an ‘indecent act’.
An invasive image is an image of a person in a place other than a public place:
An invasive image can include an image that has been digitally altered.
It is an offence to distribute or share an invasive image of someone knowing they do not consent to the distribution.
It is also a crime to threaten to share an invasive image intending to cause the person fear.
It does not matter that a person under 17 agrees to be in an invasive image or agrees for it to be shared. Sharing invasive or indecent images of a person under 17 is a serious crime.
Under Commonwealth law, it is illegal to share sexual material by phone or internet knowing the person depicted does not consent to it being shared. This can include material altered or entirely created by technology (known as ‘deepfakes’).
It is an offence to film another person undressed or engaged in a private act (like having a shower) where they would normally expect privacy, or film a person’s private region when this would not be expected.
If you are concerned that an image of you or someone you know is being shared inappropriately, you should contact the police.
The Office of the eSafety Commissioner also has the power to have images removed from websites and issue penalties in certain circumstances. Report online at esafety.gov.au/report.
For more information, resources, or a free visit to your school, organisation or group, email cle@lsc.sa.gov.au.
To apply for legal aid online, visit www.lsc.sa.gov.au.
Call our free Legal Helpline on 1300 366 424.
Acknowledgments:
The Legal Services Commission gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the National Children’s and Youth Legal Centre in allowing the Legal Services Commission of South Australia to use and adapt existing content.
Disclaimer: The material in this factsheet is a general guide only. It is not legal advice. For legal advice about your own particular situation, call the Free Legal Helpline on 1300 366 424. The legal information was correct at the time of publishing, but may change without notice.
January 2025
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